ComediHa! Turns 25: Laughing Hard and Converting Big
ComediHa!
Media planningBack to projects
ComediHa! is a major entertainment content creator, having produced thousands of shows across multiple sectors. Every summer, it organizes the world’s largest French-language comedy festival: ComediHa! Fest-Québec. For its 25th anniversary, ComediHa! broke into the Montreal market with ComediHa! Hello Montréal, a first edition that made quite an impact.
For its grand debut in Montreal, ComediHa! entrusted Imédia with orchestrating a comprehensive and impactful bilingual communication strategy. Our agency managed the entire process, from negotiating and purchasing ad spaces to implementing, maintaining, and executing both digital and traditional campaigns—including wild posting to maximize visibility across the Island of Montreal and reach a local audience.
The Hello Montréal festival – Sold out before it even started
Building on ComediHa!’s existing brand and platform, we handled the creation of all visual adaptations, both digital and traditional, ensuring alignment with our media plan and that of Québecor.
One of the key challenges of this multi-channel campaign was balancing two messages: promoting free outdoor shows while driving pass sales for exclusive perks and access to indoor performances. The highly attractive free programming risked overshadowing pass sales. We skillfully crafted the campaign’s editorial tone, developing sharp, high-impact messaging like "For free or for a steal!’’ and "First to come, first to crack up."
Leveraging pre-existing brand animations, we produced a motion design piece showcasing the festival’s arrival in Montreal, highlighting the featured artists and setting the tone for the campaign.
To maximize audience engagement, we focused our efforts on the Island of Montreal, targeting people with a strong interest in culture, comedy, and live entertainment. Vibrant visuals gave the campaign high visibility, and with a strategic keyword approach, we ensured our target audience landed in the right place.
All passes were sold out even before the event started—a major success for our client, who filled Place des Arts in its very first year on Montreal’s cultural scene. The strategy delivered results at 280% of expectations, generating nearly 3,000 direct pass sales. We also observed an increase in engagement rates with advertising content as the event date approached.
ComediHa! Fest Québec – Real-Time Campaign Optimization
In Québec City, Imédia designed and orchestrated the entire media campaign, based on the client’s visual assets. Given the festival’s month-long duration, our digital team had to develop a real-time optimization strategy for ad placements. Focused primarily on pass sales, the campaign targeted the general public through traditional media during pre-sales, as well as outdoor advertising and web TV. We also leveraged radio giveaways to encourage audience participation.
While some challenges were similar to those faced in Montreal—such as managing pass sales and free programming—the team successfully executed high-performing campaigns. The agency demonstrated remarkable agility throughout the project, adjusting or pausing campaigns based on real-time attendance and results. We proved our ability to adapt quickly to on-the-ground needs and challenges, while strengthening festivalgoers’ love for ComediHa! Fest in Québec City!
On the festival’s website, in partnership with Québecor’s Hublo content platform, we observed high organic traffic due to strategic placements. The campaign generated over 2,000 direct pass sales, with a 197% delivery index, ensuring that we reached the right audience, at the right time.
